


Little Runaway

by Jassy



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-13
Updated: 2010-09-13
Packaged: 2017-10-11 18:41:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/115683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jassy/pseuds/Jassy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexandra Harris has had enough of Hellmouth living.  With the help of a certain bleached blond vampire, she makes plans to leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago, while I was going through a genderchange stage in my writing. It started with the thought of: what if Xander had been born a girl? this was the result.

Hands shoved deep into the pockets of her oversized jeans, Xander shuffled through the darkened streets. It was, she knew, a supremely stupid thing to be doing. Vampires and demons and other monsters ruled the night, and she would be nothing but a brief snack to any of them. It was difficult to dredge up the energy to care. Demons could and would kill her. So would her own father. And there was no one left to care either way.

Her random shuffling took her deeper into the 'bad' part of town. Where warehouses and factories loomed, forming monstrous shadows in the dim yellow light of the few working street lights. Away from the clubs, and the streets filled against reason with teens and young adults driving around, looking for a good time. To an almost empty, vacant lot. The sight that greeted her brought her briefly out of her own dark thoughts.

A battered black car, windows spray painted over, a figure – a man – dressed all in black, with a shock of slicked back bleach white hair. A vampire. Spike. Laying on the hood of the car, a half empty bottle in one fist, a cigarette in the other. Numerous butts littered the ground around the hood, along with two empty bottles.

Voice, once smoky silky sex, low and gravelly now. "Fuckin' town, fuckin' bint. Took it all 'way. Ev'thing. Kill 'er. Blow the fuckin' town to cinders an' ash."

"Wow. And I thought I was depressed." Xander shuffled closer, waiting for hazy blue eyes to focus on her. Spike reeked, even from five feet away; smoke and whiskey, and old blood.

It took a while for the drunk vampire to focus on her, eyes narrowing with rage when they did. "You! Ain't you one o' the slayer's yappin' little bitches?" He struggled off the hood of the car, falling in the process.

Xander ducked under him, catching him before he could hit the gravel. She propped him up against the car, steadying his fingers around the bottle. "Not anymore. Not since the night you left town with your girlfriend. One teensy, tiny little white lie, and poof! No more friends. Speaking of, where is your girlfriend?"

Spike's anger melted, replaced by grief. "Gone, all gone. Wanted to join her soddin' daddy, so she took a walk in the sun."

"Christ, that sucks. Angel sure knows how to take everything away from everyone, doesn't he? Even when he's in hell." She leaned against the side of the car next to him.

"Yeah, Angelus always been a bloody wanker. 'Ere, wait. What are you doin' out here, eh?" Spike leaned over precariously, peering into her face. "Look awful."

"Aw, shucks. You sure are a charmer, Spike. Simple, really. I haven't got anywhere else to be." Xander propped him back up.

"Can't see that. Yer little chums wouldn't let ya out all by yer lonesome. Not at night. So give."

"Tell you what. You share some of that whiskey, and I'll tell you the whole sordid story. Starting from the beginning, when Buffy first came to town. If nothing else, you might get a good laugh at the stupid human."

"Huh. Gonna kill that bitch anyway. Might learn somethin' useful. Drink up, ducks." Spike passed over the bottle before hitching himself awkwardly back onto the hood.

Xander joined him, leaning back against the windshield to take her first ever swallow of whiskey. It burned, and she coughed, and Spike smirked. She took another swig anyway, and another. The effects, she found, lessened with repetition. After a few moments, the heat pooled in her belly, relaxing defense-tightened muscles, along with her tongue. She passed the bottle back at that point. "Right. So I had a pretty crummy life since the day I was born. Parents hated me. Wasn't pretty enough, or girly enough for mom, and wasn't enough of a boy for dad. Course, he stopped minding that so much when I started getting tits. I had two friends, Willow and Jessie. We were the geeks, the losers, but we had each other and it was all good. 'Bout the time Buffy arrived, the Master was having his goons start stocking the pantry. I found out about all of this shit, vampires and all, too late for Jessie. She was a lesbian, see. Had a hot blond hit on her at the Bronze, turned out to be Darla. Long and short, she got turned, and I ended up staking her."

"Bit of a crap thing t'do, ducks. Stakin' yer mate like that." Spike passed the bottle back over, and Xander gratefully downed a few more burning swallows.

"Didn' mean to, y'know. I was tryin' to talk her out of eating me, and I had the stake up an' pressed to her chest. She got pushed from behind onto it. I can still taste her ashes...." She gulped more whiskey, eyed the burnt out butt in his hand. "Got anymore of those? Might as well try as many vices as I can before I end up dead." Spike shrugged and pulled a crumpled pack from his duster. Lit one for her with an almost courtly manner, and laughed out loud when it made her cough so hard she nearly puked. But like with the whiskey, repetition made it easier, and the smoke gave her a lightheaded, dizzy feeling to go with the liquid heat of the booze. Both flavors mixed perfectly with the lingering taste of Jessie.

"Go on, pet, do. Accidently stakin' yer friend and all."

"Yeah. Somehow, I did't blame Buffy for it. Wasn't her fault Jessie was horny, and desperate enough to go with the first pretty girl to give her the time of day. And I was just mad enough that I wanted to help. To kill as many of the things that took my friend away from me. So it was the three of us, me, Willow, and Buffy. And it was good on its own, but I never stopped missing her. And Willow, she just latched onto Buffy. Buffy likes clothes and hair and make-up and stuff, and Willow wanted desperately to be as pretty and cool as the cheerleaders, but without the nasty bitchiness. I never could get into all that fashion stuff. Even if I wanted to, dressing like a girl in front of my father was not a good thing. But I still got to hang with them, and help. An' then, Angel came on the scene. With his brooding, and moping, and doing the tortured poor-me thing. He was a vampire, soul or not, redemption or not. And I hated him, but everyone thought I was jealous 'cause he was hot for Buffy an' not me. I mean, c'mon! Do I look like I'd go for that tortured soul act?"

Spike considered her. "Nah. Look like you'd go for, I dunno, Luke Skywalker or some such. 'Fore he got all depressed, when he was still the eager puppy."

"Actually," Xander confided, "I totally had a crush on Han Solo. The whole bad boy, devil may care thing really did it for me. He was so hot."

"I stand corrected, ducks."

"Yeah, anyway. So they're all thinking I'm jealous, and really, I just hated him. But I dealt, and kept my mouth shut mostly, and just went with things. Then Buffy slept with him, and bam! Buh-bye tortured soul, hello sadistic murdering bastard! And let me tell you, I found it pretty hard to be sympathetic. If ever anyone should have kept her legs closed for a vamp, it was the Slayer. Hello, sacred calling anyone? And she couldn't even clean up her own mess. It was all, poor me, my boyfriend went psycho 'cause I let him slip it to me." Spike snorted. "Well, it's true! And I have no idea how many people actually died by his hand, while she was all depressed, and unable to kill her little Angel-kins. So he kills Ms. Calendar, nearly takes out Giles. And she's finally ready to do it. Finally. Then Willow found the disk with the soul-restoration spell. It almost killed her, trying to cast it. I know you made some kind of deal with Buffy to get Drusilla out safely. Not sure you were even there by the time I showed up to get Giles out. Willow was in the hospital. She'd told me to tell Buffy to stall, that she was going to cast the spell again. And I couldn't do it. Couldn't tell her that, and watch her get killed, and the world sucked into hell, because she wouldn't be fighting for her life. She'd hesitate, and not go all out, and we'd all die. I was almost certain Wills was gonna die just trying the spell, and I couldn't stop her from doing it, but I could stop Buffy. So I lied. Told her to kick his ass. And the world still almost got sucked into hell, even with her fighting with everything she had."

Xander flicked the remains of the cigarette away. "So that was it, really. One little lie, said in an effort to spare all of us. And now they all hate me. Blame me that he got sucked into a hell dimension. Seem to think that if I'd told the truth, actually delivered the right message, that everything would have been hunky dory. Buffy would have stalled him, not let him wake up the demon god guy, he'd have gotten his soul, and there would have been happily every after. I lost everything trying to help, and they hate me for it."

"Pffff. Tell you 'bout losin' everthin'." Spike gestured, nearly clocking Xander with the almost empty bottle. "Had my Wicked Plum over a hunnard years, I did. Takin' care o' her, lovin' her, hell! Had bloody tea parties with bloody dolls with her! Made a deal with a slayer, who I shoulda been eatin', all to keep her safe an' happy and whatnot. My whole existence was wrapped up in her. An' she got inna tizzy. Said daddy was screaming, an' it was my fault, an' she was gonna go make him feel better. Loved that bastard more'n she ever did me, never mindin' all the unpleasant torture and the way he left us. Never mindin' th' way he left me t'rot in that chair, not bringin' nuff to heal me. A century, an' all I got left is ash."

"Don't make sense. I mean, you are so way cooler than he was. With his stupid hair, and wanting to destroy the world. The Judge, an' and Acathla dude. I mean, hello! If all the humans are gone, what are vamps supposed to eat?"

"Xactly! Poofter was dumb as a bleedin' rock, an' she still went for him 'stead o' me." Spike chugged the last of the whiskey and sent the bottle flying. "Fuckin' hell, need more."

"Liquor store 'bout five blocks from here. Closed, but I bet we could break a window or something."

"We? Ain't you one o' the good guys?"

Xander slid unsteadily to the ground, weaving a bit where she stood. "You know what? I just don't even care anymore. Being a good guy never got me anywhere, and I know it's just a matter of time before something or someone kills me. Heck, it'll probably be you when you get bored with having me here. So fuck the rules, fuck right and wrong. I'm gonna have some sort of fun before I kick it."

"Got a point there, ducks. Lead on."

Neither of them were at all steady on their feet. But even drunk, Xander didn't get lost. The door was metal and bolted, and there were bars over the windows. The stone around the bars was crumbling, though, and easy for Spike to rip right out. Well, easy if you ignore the stumbling and tripping, and the falling on his ass when the first bar came free. Spike wasn't small enough to fit inside the window, so he hoisted Xander through it. Following his directions, she bagged up every single bottle of decent stuff the store offered, ignoring the 'watery camel piss', as Spike put it. The bags were passed out the window until the place was devoid of any bottles of anything over ten bucks. Having a second thought, she went ahead and added over a dozen cartons of smokes before wriggling back out the window. Spike failed to catch her. Xander failed to be shocked.

In a blinding moment of stupidity, Xander got into the same car as Spike. Have a drunk, grieving vampire driving was enough to sober her up. Spike was a very bad driver. It wasn't theatrics that had her falling out of the car to the ground, her legs really were that rubbery. Spike failed to refrain from laughing. Xander failed to be shocked. She didn't fail to confiscate one of the bottles for herself, however, along with one of the cartons.

They were, not surprisingly, in a warehouse. Abandoned, of course, and grimy beyond belief. After cracking open the bottle, she didn't care anymore. The further the alcohol level dropped in it, the less she cared about anything. She couldn't quite remember what all they talked about. She did remember laughing about Angel's hair at one point, and Spike's sly assurance that it was a form of compensating. She was also pretty sure she'd mentioned Buffy's stuffed pig, which Spike found more than hilarious. The next thing she knew, she was waking up and seriously wishing that she hadn't. Her stomach was roiling, her eyes were gritty, and her mouth tasted like month dead road kill. Oh, and not to forget, someone was repeatedly driving an axe between her eyes, and her bladder was on the verge of messy explosion.

Refusing even to whimper, because that would make her eyeballs melt, she crawled painfully away from the leather she'd been draped over. The layout of the place wasn't familiar, but there was only one other door besides the exit. It took an eternity to reach it, and she almost wished she hadn't. It was a bathroom, which was good. It had also most recently been used by someone with diarrhea, who didn't know how to flush. Flushing the toilet nearly killed her, but she did it twice before using it herself. There was no toilet paper, but a bit of rummaging produced a couple crumpled tissues that would have to do.

The sink worked, although the plumbing rattled in the walls. When the water ran clear, she stuck her head under the flow. The cold shock hurt like a bitch, then felt good. The water that trickled into her mouth felt even better, so she started gulping. It took a while, but eventually she felt almost human again. The taste was much less, as was everything else. How her parents could stand to do this to themselves daily, she would never understand.

With nothing more to be done in the limited and scary facilities, she cautiously crept back out. She had enough memory of the night before to know who was out there, and enough sense to wonder if their temporary truce was over. Seeing blue eyes slitted and watching her made her freeze. Absently, she noted that he still wore the leather coat. "Is this the part where you kill me?" she whispered.

"Ain't gonna kill ya. Kinda like ya, ducks. Nah, this is the bit where you leave, after promisin' you won't never be stupid enough to wander at night again. An' that you won't tell Slutty the Vampire Layer where I am. Feeling a mite peaked, at the mo'."

Xander hunched over, all the temporarily drowned misery rising back up. "I won't say anything to her. Not that she's talking to me anyway. But I won't promise not to be out after dark. At least outside, I've got a hope of running." She paused. "Can I take some of those cigarettes?"

"Half yours, innit? You did half the work getting the stuff."

"Thanks." Xander shuffled to the pile of booze and smokes and quickly stashed a carton and a bottle in her pants. Baggy pants: skater boy's high fashion, skater girl's version of a purse. She shuffled to the door, made sure Spike wouldn't be caught by any sun, and hesitated. "I-thanks. I had fun. Don't get dusted, okay?"

"Not plannin' on it, ducks. Don't get dead, yeah?"

She shrugged and shuffled out the door.

 

Her father was not best pleased with her. Not only had she been out all night, and come home stinking a warehouse filth, smoke, and booze, but she'd missed school. Which had called, waking her father up. Xander proffered the bottle of whiskey as a peace offering, making up a hasty lie about some partying frat boys that had chased her, from whom she'd managed to steal the bottle from for him. She was let off with only a few smacks, since her father hated frat boys and the whiskey was more expensive than what he could currently afford. She escaped upstairs to shower and change, stashing the smokes under her comic books. Then she fell into bed to sleep off the rest of her hangover.

School was a nightmare, as it always was. The only people that would speak at her were teachers, mostly to berate her for skipping the day before. She accepted her make up work with lowered head and slumped shoulders. During her one free period, she reluctantly trudged to the library to pick a book for English lit, stopping in the hall with the door barely cracked. She could hear voices.

"....who the hell is this Xander you guys mention but don't actually say much about?"

Silence. Then Buffy: "Someone we thought was a friend, so we put up with her stupid jokes and not so brightness, and less than gracefulness. Turns out she's just a selfish, jealous bitch."

Willow: "Buffy! That isn't true. She made a mistake. A really bad one, but she didn't mean any actual harm. Xander lied, Faith. She thought that if she told the truth, Buffy wouldn't be able to fight as well as she needed to. That she'd be distracted, and the world would, you know, sort of end. She didn't do it to hurt anyone."

First voice again, Faith: "So, she makes a mistake, and now she's out in the cold? Kinda harsh, B."

Buffy: "I don't think it was a mistake, whatever Willow thinks."

Faith: "And you, Red? What's up with the whole not talking to this chick, if you think it was a mistake?"

Willow: "Well...Xander isn't really cut out for this stuff, you know? I don't want her hurt, and what if she makes another mistake? One that hurts even more people? I don't hate her or anything, but she's just better off not involved. And I know Xander. If she knew I still care about her, she'd try to help anyway. It's safer this way."

Faith: "You people really make me wonder, you know that?"

Xander had heard enough. Depression and self loathing lifted, replaced by a cold fury. Eyes narrowed, she slammed open the doors. "Hey! Library dude! I need a book." Feigning surprise, she eyed the table where the three girls sat. She smiled at the brunette, appreciating the badass attitude projected by her clothes. "You're new. Take a little advice: don't turn your back on these two."

Giles came out of his office. "Ms. Harris, this is a library, and I am a member of school staff. As such, I expect a certain amount of respect for both."

"You're getting all you deserve. Need a book. Skip the demons and such, it's for English lit."

"Watch yourself, young lady. I can and will issue you a detention.

"Ooh, now that's scary."

"Xander!" Willow stood up, a frown marring her pretty face. "You shouldn't talk like that to Mr. Giles. He's a teacher!"

"He's a second-rate Watcher who couldn't keep his charge alive for even a full year. Had to leave it up to a selfish, stupid bitch to bring her back. And hey! Caused the Slayer line to be split!" She looked at Faith. "Going on a guess, I'd say you're Kendra's replacement. The latest Slayer. Hope you're better than Buffy." Faith just frowned.

"That is enough, Alexandra Harris. And it will be a week's worth of detentions."

"Whatsa matter? Don't want me scaring off the new girl? Boy, have I got some serious stories I could tell. And all of them true! I'm sure Faith would just love to hear about Slutty, the Vampire Layer over there." Her eyes burned, first into Giles', then Buffy's. "But you know what? You guys aren't even worth my time. I won't feel all depressed and shit, just because you people have cast me out of your sacred circle. You wouldn't know real friendship if it bit you all on the ass. You just have no idea. Even you, Willow, with the whole forgetting Jessie thing. Makes me glad for once that she's gone, considering how ashamed she'd be of you. I seriously hope you all rot." She turned to storm out, but Giles grabbed her arm. She yanked, he held tight, and she turned a vicious smile on him. "I'm sure the school board would love to know how you touch the female students. I'd be more than happy to tell them." He let go as though burned, face taking on a look of utter shock, allowing her to leave.

Xander had had enough. She finished out the rest of the school day with an obvious chip on her shoulder. Her biology teacher attempted to dress her down for missing the prior day's lab, and got a full taste of her sarcasm that left him gaping. When she left, she had numerous detentions piled up, along with a meeting scheduled with the school's councilor. Not that she intended to go to any of them. She was angry, and she was going to get the hell out of this stupid town, with its stupid people and stupid hellmouth, and stupid demons. Faith caught up to her on her way home.

"Hey, Xander! Hold up." Faith jogged a bit to catch up.

"What do you want?" Xander lifted her chin as she faced the other girl.

"Chill. I just want a few of those stories you mentioned. Shit just don't jive around here, and none of those little goody two shoes will give me any sort of straight answers. I think you will."

"Fine. But you'll have to come with me. I've got plans, and I ain't putting them off for anyone." Xander resumed her walk, and Faith fell into step beside her. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know just what it was that got you 'cast out of their sacred circle' as you put it."

Xander laughed. "Oh, this should be good. You're the other Slayer, right?"

"Got that right, chiccy."

"Buffy was in love with a vampire. His name was Angel. But it was all okay, because he had a soul, he wasn't a real monster." She snorted. "Except that he was. Oh, he was all about the redemption thing, but that don't mean much to me. He wasn't different, he was just pathetic. But they all thought I had the hots for him, and never listened when I said we should be careful around him. They thought I was jealous. So Buffy, being all in luurrrve, goes ahead and sleeps with him. Turns out, the curse that gave him the soul had a catch. One moment of true happiness, and he loses the soul. So he reverts back to being a full time psycho, and I'll give you three guesses as to what Buffy did. The first two don't count."

"I'm guessing...she moped around with a woe is me thing. When she should have dusted his ass."

Xander clapped mockingly. "Got it in one! So he hooks up with his former girlfriend, Drusilla, and her boyfriend Spike. They used to be some sort of weird family back in the day. They reassemble the Judge, who could easily have destroyed every human on the planet. Which I'm thinking makes Angel really stupid. I mean, if there aren't any humans, what are the demons gonna eat? But what none of the others will tell you, is that I figured out how to kill the Judge. He was a guy that couldn't be killed by any weapons forged by man." She shrugged. "I suggested a rocket launcher. Those aren't forged, they're built. By machines, in factories. Buffy may have aimed it, but it was still my idea. And she still didn't dust Angel. I can't even begin to guess how many people he killed, but he did take out my favorite teacher, Ms. Calendar. Everyone was pissed at her at the time. She was part of the gypsy clan that first cursed him. She knew what would break the curse, and she didn't warn anyone. She was working on translating the curse, so it could be used again to re-soul him. Turns out she'd done it, but no one found the disk for a while. Things go on, Angel killing people, Buffy angsting, until he decides to wake up a demon god guy. Acathla. Willow finds the re-souling spell. Make a long story short, she's laid up in the hospital, wanting to do the spell on the same night Angel is ready to wake up Acathla. Willow sends me to tell Buffy to stall him and get Giles out. They'd captured and tortured him to get the info on how to do it. I met up with Buffy, and I had a choice. I could tell her to stall, that Willow was gonna do the spell. Or I could tell her to kick his ass. Considering how long we'd been waiting for her to deal with the mess she'd made, while she was all angst-girl, I picked the second option. Way I figured, if she thought he was gonna be her boyfriend again, she wasn't gonna really fight him. She'd hesitate, and end up dead. But if she went all out, then there was a better chance of stopping him. If he got re-souled, fine. She'd be alive to enjoy it. If not, if the spell failed or whatever, then he'd be dust. Even with fighting for all she's worth, he still woke Acathla up. Soul or not, the only way to stop things was to shove the sword he'd used into him and shove him through the portal that was opening. Which is what Buffy did, even though he'd gotten his soul like seconds before she had to do it. But no one believed me when it was all over. They all figured it was just jealousy, some sort of messed up 'if I can't have him, no one can' thing. Big screaming match, lots of tears, and that was it. Noone wanted me around anymore."

"Christ," Faith muttered. "This is who I'm supposed to work with?"

Xander stopped in front of her house, but didn't go in yet. "If you want my advice, get out of town. Let Buffy go ahead and be queen of the hellmouth. As far as she's concerned, the whole world revolves around her anyway."

"That what you're doing? Skipping town?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna find something better." She sketched a little wave. "Good luck. It was nice meeting you and stuff. Oh, if you want to know more, read Giles' journals. You'll probably have to decode stuffy British speak, but he writes down everything."

"Thanks. Good luck, Xander. You're a decent chick under those baggy clothes." Faith kept walking and Xander went to pack.

 

Her plan, such as it was, was simple. Get money, buy a bus ticket, leave. Actually getting the money wasn't quite as simple, but it wasn't all that complicated, either. When she had packed all she wanted to take with her, including her own meager savings, she followed Buffy on patrol. She was actually sad to see Faith with her, but there wasn't a whole lot she could do. It wasn't easy to sneak around behind a pair of keyed up slayers, but it did pay off in the end. When the pair slaughtered a crypt full of vamps, Xander ducked inside as soon as they left. She'd noticed that vampires, at least the fledges that seemed to infest the city, seemed to like to collect things. The former nest didn't disappoint.

She found a shoebox full of money, along with a bunch of jewelry and electronics. It was all, she was sure, taken from their victims. It bothered her, but since they were dead, and she wasn't, she didn't let it keep her from taking it. The money, and a few of the more expensive pieces of jewelry, went in her duffel. The rest she bundled up in a battered back pack she'd found laying around.

If the old man that ran the pawn shop suspected where she got all the stuff, he didn't let on. He discarded the cell phones as worthless, put aside the half dozen cd players and hand held gaming units, and appraised the jewelry. Then he paid her about six hundred bucks. Not nearly what the stuff was worth, or what he'd get for it, but she wasn't going to try to argue. Put together with the money she already had, it gave her a little over two grand. Plus, if she needed to, she had the other pieces of jewelry to sell later. Smugly pleased with herself, she skipped out of the shop to head towards the bus station.

On the way, she saw Buffy. Alone, and acting sneaky, while carrying a cooler. Curiosity overcame good sense, and Xander followed her. The slayer headed to the old mansion. With the windows boarded over, Xander couldn't see in, and from outside, she couldn't hear anything. Still too curious to leave, she waited. It was nearing dawn before Buffy slipped out again. As soon as she was out of sight, Xander slipped into the house.

Inside, she found Angel. Chained to the wall, with enough slack to lay down on the folded blanket on the floor. The cooler Buffy had carried was within his reach. Xander had no doubt that it contained blood.

As quietly as she could, hoping the vampire really had been asleep as he'd looked, Xander left. She was seriously torn. However Angel had gotten back didn't matter. Buffy was obviously hiding him, putting everyone at risk again. If the soul could be lost once, it could happen again. She knew that telling Giles or Willow wouldn't get her anywhere. They'd be mad, sure, but they wouldn't do anything about it. And after seeing Faith patrol with Buffy, she wasn't sure the other slayer would either. She wanted him dust, but there was no way she'd be able to get close enough to him to do it herself. Not when he had enough slack in the chains to grab her when she did.

The answer came to her in a flash: Spike. Spike hated Angel, and was currently in town looking for revenge. Plus, if she gave him Angel, he might be willing to direct her someplace decently safe, where she could start over. No point in fleeing the hellmouth if she ended up in the demon version of Disney Land.

Choice made, she hurried through the gradually brightening streets to the warehouse she remembered waking up in. Thankfully, she spotted his car around the side of the building. Not thinking any further on it, she pushed open the door. "Spike? Are you...." She froze, staring at the four vampires grinning at her. "Oh boy," she mumbled. Heart speeding up, she plastered a bright grin on her face. "Hey fellas! Anyone know where Spike is?"

"Not bright, ducks." Spike shoved a couple of the other vamps to the side. "Even in daylight, still stupid to walk into a vamp's lair. Thinkin' t'move in, are we?" He nodded at her duffel.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm leaving town." Nervously eyeing the watching minions, she edged closer to Spike. "I found something I think you'll want to see, though."

"Oh?" The scarred eyebrow went up. "And what might that be?"

At her gesture, he bent his head closer to hers. Placing her lips almost on his ear, she whispered, "Angel. He's back." She cried out when he suddenly grabbed her by the arms and shook her.

"Wanker's in hell! What game're you playin'?" he snarled, face shifting to show teeth and ridges.

"It isn't a game! I saw him, Spike. Not half an hour ago. And ow! Let me go, that hurts!"

Spike released his grip, still vamped out. "Best be tellin' the truth, pet. You won't like what happens if I find you ain't."

She glared, rubbing her arms. "Dick. Maybe I shouldn't tell you where he is. By the time you find him, Buffy will have moved him or let him go."

Spike rolled his eyes, face melting back to his human features. He pushed her hands away, then leaned over to kiss each of the rising bruises. "Better?"

Xander forced her mouth to close. "Oh, yeah. Sure. Most people don't use tongue when they do that."

"Focus, pet." Spike snapped his fingers in front of her nose.

"Oh, right. Say, the peanut gallery isn't gonna blab all this to everyone they meet, will they? I know Buffy gets info from Willy, and he hears everything."

"Hey! Who you callin' peanut gallery, geek?" one of the minions demanded.

"Yeah!" another one chimed in. "And hey, why ain't we eatin' her, boss?"

"Hang about, ducks." Spike gathered the four a few feet away. A moment later, four clouds of dust drifted to the floor. "There, now there ain't no chance of them talkin'. Spill."

"Sure." Xander recounted her night, ending with finding Angel and coming to see Spike.

"Well well, this I gotta see," Spike mused. "Course, bastard's probably loony. Who knows how long he spent in hell?"

"Only what, three months or so? Think he lost it that fast?"

"Time can move different in different dimensions, pet. Coulda been three months, coulda been three centuries. Guess I'll find out."

"Okay. Should I, um, bring the car to the door or what?"

Spike pursed his lips. "Best do," he nodded. "If he's there, gonna want to move him, and I don't fancy carrying his fat arse through the sewers."

"Kay." Xander accepted the keys, moved the car, and quickly wished she hadn't. Spike wasn't any better of a driver sober than he was drunk. She just about peed herself on the way to the mansion.

Angel scrambled to his feet when they walked in. He vamped out and lunged at them, but there was no sign of recognition, no words or threats. Just a sort of animal panic.

"Oh, this is too good," Spike crowed. He picked her up and twirled her around until she was dizzy, then set her down with a hard kiss on the mouth. "I owe you, pet. Name it, and I'll do my best to deliver."

Xander scuffed her toe in the dust, trying not to lick her lips. "Well...I was hoping you know somewhere I could go. Somewhere without too many demons. My luck, I'd pick a demon resort or something."

"That's it? All you want? Pet, come on! You just hand delivered my revenge on a silver fuckin' platter! Don't you at least want anyone dead?"

"Nope. I just want out."

"Fine. Let me think a mo." Spike lit a smoke, sucking it half down before he spoke again. "Only problem with what you want, is that any place without a large demon population is gonna be small. An' a little girl like you, young and alone, is gonna be noticed. You need a big city, an' they all got good sized demon populations. But you want mostly safety, yeah? Somewhere new?"

"Yes...." she said hesitantly.

"Well, then I got the perfect place for you. Get yerself on a bus to Milwaukee. Know a bloke there, runs a tavern. He owes me a pretty big favor. He's a shapeshifter, but he's decent. He can hook you up with a job, place to live an' all. Least until you get old enough to be legally on your own. That do you?"

"And I won't get eaten? I've kinda decided I'd rather live, instead of simply not wanting it to be my father that kills me."

"You got my word on it, pet. Now, let me get the drooling poofter sorted, and I'll set you up with directions and such."

Getting Angel 'sorted' meant knocking him out, wrapping him up in the chains, and taking him back to the warehouse in the trunk of the car. Spike had obviously been planning to keep someone there. There was a cage and another set of chains already set up that Spike transferred the unconscious vampire to. Xander helped where she could, but mostly stood back and watched. The implements arranged around the cage made her uneasy, and she just really wanted to get out of there.

When Spike was satisfied that Angel was secured, he backed out of the cage and locked it. "That'll do him. Gonna have a good time, let me tell ya, pet."

"Please don't. I wonder what's wrong with him? He didn't seem injured, so...."

"Ah, just a bit out o' his head. Feed 'im up proper, an' it'll all come back. Which is when the real fun will start. No point playin' with him, if he don't know why. C'mon, let's get you sorted." Spike led her away from the cage, pulling a cell out of an inside pocket of the duster. He made a call, speaking to someone named Mike. Most of the conversation was in a language Xander didn't recognize. When he hung up, he looked supremely smug. "Right, that's got you. Mike's the bloke that'll look after you. Get yer cute arse on a bus. When you get into town, take a cab. When you get to the tavern, tell the big red-haired fella behind the bar who you are. Tavern won't look like much. He don't serve humans, so you'll be the only one there. Don't fret none about that, Mike'll make sure no one bothers you. Have yerself a good think on the way, decide what you wanna do. He'll set you up with just about anything you ask. 'Course, he can only do so much, so be reasonable. Can't make you Miss America or nothin' like that."

Xander laughed. "I very much doubt anyone could. I'm good with a job and an apartment. I don't really need anything flashy."

"Huh. Don't sell yerself short, ducks." Spike scrawled something on a scrap of paper. "This is the address to give the cabby. Need any dosh?"

"Dosh? Money?" Spike nodded. "Nope. Got enough, at least to get there." She shoved the paper in her pocket, promising herself that she'd memorize the address on the bus. Just in case. "So. Is that it?"

"Yeah, pet. Yer all set. Sure you don't want no one dead?" Spike grinned. "Got a knack for that sort of thing."

"Yeah, I'm sure. 'Sides, you've got it covered." She pointed at the cage. "I'll be happy knowing he's gone for good. Although...."

"What?"

"You know, you might want to take him out of town. Buffy is really focused on him. Once she knows he's gone, she'll tear the town apart to find him. Be a pain if she got lucky."

"That it would. Cage was meant for her anyway. I'll take Peaches somewhere more private. That bitch has a habit of ruining my fun." His eyes flashed golden for a moment, rage glinting in them before it was wiped away. "Now then, don't you worry your pretty head none. Go get yerself on the bus. An' be careful, pet. Keep a cross an' holy water on ya, an' don't wander about at any rest stops. Vamps like to snack, and those places make good huntin' grounds."

"I'll be careful," she promised. She hefted her duffel uncertainly. "Is that everything?"

Spike steered her to the door. "Yeah. Go on now. Hate mushy goodbye's." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "'Sides. I just might look you up one o' these days. Make sure yer doing fine."


End file.
